Method of and apparatus for accurately working rotary die boards to receive cutting rule

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed a method of and apparatus for developing on tape and applying a preselected rotary die design, etc., defined by spaced drilled holes, to a rotary die board automatically by a tape controlled apparatus. A computer is programmed to produce information which is transferred to a tape, or the like, fed to a numerical control machine to energize selected mechanisms to physically apply a preselected design formed by spaced drilled holes, routing, etc., to a rotary die board for reception of the spaced tangs or legs of cutting rule, or the like, or other workings. Included in the computer programming is a foreshortening of dimensions, as required, to compensate for the relative position of the cutting rule edge. Illustrated is an apparatus for drilling or drilling and routing rotary die board including an electrically actuatable structure for rotatably supporting rotary die board, an electrically actuatable traversable supporting structure for a drill head, and an electrically actuatable drill head adapted to execute desired reciprocable movements and to drill spaced holes and to rout, as signaled.

United States Patent Sauer et al.

[451 Oct. 10,1972

[54] METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR ACCURATELY WORKING ROTARY DIE BOARDS TORECEIVE CUTTING RULE [72] Inventors: Louis E. Sauer; Orvill' e C.Miller,

both of St. Louis, Mo.

[73] Assignee: Centenary Central, Inc., St. Louis,

[22] Filed: July 9, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: 840,384

[52] US. Cl. ..29/26 A, 76/4, 76/107 C [51] Int, Cl. ..B21k 5/20 [58]Field of Search....76l4, 107 C; 29/26 A; 90/167, 90/13 [56] ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,860,555 11/1958 Williamson ..76/107 C XR26,192 4/1967 Martin ..76/107 C X 3,345,898 10/1967 Dovey ..76/107 C X3,372,568 3/1968 Lemelson ..90/13 X 3,383,969 5/1968 Saunders ..76/107 CX 3,465,298 9/ 1969 La Duke et al ..29/26 A UX v FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS I 441,750 2/ 1926 Germany ..90/167 C Primary ExaminerAndrewR. Juhasz Assistant Examiner-Z. R. Bilinsky Attorney-Kingsland, Rogers,Ezell, Eilers & Robbins ABSTRACT There is disclosed a method of andapparatus for developing on tape and applying a preselected rotary diedesign, etc., defined by spaced drilled holes, to a rotary die boardautomatically by a tape controlled apparatus. A computer is programmedto produce information which is transferred to a tape, or the like, fedto a numerical control machine to energize selected mechanisms tophysically apply a preselected design formed by spaced drilled holes,routing, etc., to a rotary die board for reception of the spaced tangsor legs of cutting rule, or the like, or other workings. lncluded in thecomputer programming is a foreshortening of dimensions, as required, tocompensate for the relative position of the cutting rule edge.Illustrated is an apparatus for drilling or drilling and routing rotarydie board including an electrically actuatable structure for rotatablysupporting rotary die board, an electrically actuatable traversablesupporting structure for a drill head, and an electrically actuatabledrill head adapted to execute desired reciprocable movements and todrill spaced holes and to rout, as signaled.

10 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures INFORMATION COMPUTER i M m me/u. F CONTEOL m Pmmznomomz I 3.696.480

SHEET 2 BF 3 81 Mai-m Lou/s E. SAL/5Q ORV/LLE C. MILLER WWW.-

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l Field of the Invention The presentinvention relates generally to the die cutting art, and moreparticularly to a novel method of and novel apparatus for automaticallyproviding extremely accurately worked die boards, both individuallyrepetitive and a repetitive design on a single board adapted to receivecutting rule including spaced tangs or legs. Novelrotary die boardsincorporating accurately spaced holes with or without routing, etc., andthe novel end rotary dies incorporating cutting rule with spaced tangsor legs are included in the invention.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the prior art, there are many waysandmeansof making dies, both 'flatand rotary. With particular referenceto rotary dies, one method is to saw cutsin cylindrical pieces Ofplywood or other die material with a jig or saber-type saw, leaving tiesat selected intervals, and driving cutting rule into the saw cuts.Another method is to hold the cutting rule in place by clamping blockswhich are fastened to an'appropriately curved piece of die materialforming a sub-base. A third method is to fasten the cutting rule to theedges of blocks which are, in turn, fastened to a suitable die base.Many other methods and apparatus exist, or have been tried in the pastandrelegated to limbo. Identity, or even approximate identity, insuccessive rotary dies, or rotary die fragments, Of the original designcan be achieved only at great expense in time and money.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In brief, the present novel apparatus forautomatically repetitively working rotary die boards achievingsubstantially one hundred percent accuracy in successive reproduction ofthe design comprises, broadly, a computer'programmed from data fedtherein to provide information for making a control tape, mechanismactuatable by'the control tape to give electric Signals or impulses, andtraversable and rotatable mechanisms for operatively supporting'a rotarydie board and drill unit adapted to receive such electric signals forpredetermined actuation thereof. The present novel method'of achievingthe aforesaid end product includes the steps of providing a computer,programming the same to provide information to make a tape, and thelike, applying the tape to a mechanism aCtuated therebyto developelectric signals, and directing these electrical signals to electricallyactuated mechanism essential .to perform required work upon rotarydi'e'boards to condition the same for receiving cutting rule in thedesired pattern. An embodiment of preferred apparatus so actuatableincludes a rotatable support for die board, an

electrically actuatable drill head adapted to function as required, andan electrically actuatable 'traversable support for the drill head.Included in the invention are novel rotary die boards incorporatingdesigns defined by holes, or holes and routing, etc.,-produced in thenovel method and by the novel apparatus, or otherwise, and novel rotarydies therefrom incorporatingcutting rule having tangs or legs in theholes.

Therefore, it is an object of the present inventionto provide a novelmethod of and apparatus for reproducing highly accurate die 'pattems onsuccessive or the same'rotary die boards for receptionof cutting rule tofulfill'the long existing need in-theart. Other objects are to providesuch a method 'and apparatus which comprise 'a practical solution to thelong standing problem ofextremely accurate repetitive rotary dies, ordie fragments;'which are adapted to achieve continued success Over longperiods of time; which are completely automatic in the execution of thedie design; and which otherwise fulfill the objects and advantagessought therefor. A further object is to-provide a novel rotarydie'board-incorporating a design or designs defined by spaced holes, orholes and routing, etc.,and to provide a rotary die therewithincorporating cutting rule having spaced tangs 'or rules operativelymounted in said spaced holes of the rotary die board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE'DRAWINGS FIG. 1 'is a diagrammatic layoutincorporating the broad principles of the presentinvention of apparatusfor developing a predetermined design for a rotary die on tape andautomatically accurately translating such design through said tape to anarcuate die board or base, said design being foreshortened, as required,in the direction of rotation to properly locate cutting rule;

FIG. 2 is a' plan view of an arcuate die board'prior to drilling; I

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a novel arcuate die board'h'avingholes the'rein to receive tangs or legs of cutting rule, having beendrilled in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is avertical cross-sectional view taken on substantially the line4-4 of F IG. 3;

FIG. '5 is a side elevational view of a fragment of cutting rule havingspaced tangs or legs used for rotary from left to right in FIG. 8;

FIGS. 10, 11, 12 and 13 are vertical transverse,

cross-sectional views taken on substantially the lines 10- 10, 11-11,1212 and 1313ofFIG. 8, respectively, FIGS. 12 and 13 being on a largerscale;

FIG. 14 is a view of a'fragment of'a novel die board "for cutting ruleillustrating a simple drilled and routed pattern;

FIGS. 15'and 16 are radial axial cross-sectional views taken onsubstantially the lines 15-15 and 16-16,

respectively, of FIG. 14; and

FIG. l7'is a diagrammatic wiring diagram for'actuation of the disclosedapparatus by a tape controlled unit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings moreparticularly by reference numerals and initially considering FIGS. '1-6,in FIG. lthepresent novel method of and apparatus for applying designs,etc., to rotary die boards in structure and layout for receiving cuttingrule are diagrammatically illustrated as to basic concepts. Information18 covering the required design is fed into a properly programmedcomputer 19, which translates the information and produces a tape 22.The tape 22 can be made, of course, other than by computer, such as theprogramming procedure recommended and published by the Superior ElectricCompany, Bristol, Conn., for its SLO-SYN Numerical Tape Control. Anumerical control unit 23 receives the tape 22 and translates the information thereon to the necessary electrical impulses to actuateelectrical elements in accordance therewith. Such impulses may energizea traversing supported drill head 26 to bore automatically sequentialholes 28 in a rotatively supported arcuate base or die board 30 andcooperatively energize a motor 34 operatively connected to rotate thedie board 30 support and a motor 35 operatively connected to the drillhead 26 support for traversing the drill head 26. Routing by the drillhead 26 may be included. Spacings connecting holes 28 not on the axis ofrotation of the die board 30 are foreshortened in' the direction ofrotation of the die board 30, as required, this important fact havingbeen accomplished by the computer 19 from information supplied to it.Cutting rule 32 having tangs or legs 33 is mounted in the novel workeddie board 30, as illustrated, thereby providing a novel rotary die unitready for mounting upon a support, as a drum or shaft of a ro tary diemachine.

In FIGS. 7-13 is shown novel illustrative apparatus 40 for tapecontrolled drilling, routing, or combined drilling and routing, ofrotary die boards forming the actuated component of the basic invention.The apparatus 40 includes spaced heavy end plate supports 42 and 43which are maintained in opposed positions by a horizontal support 44 ofinverted channel cross section, or any other desired cross section, bysuitable bolts 45, welding or otherwise. A mounting bracket 46 issecured by machine screws to each end plate support 42 and 43 to whichis secured a sturdy track 48 of square tubular cross section. The track48 supports an axially traversible drill carriage 49 which includes aplatform 50 to which are secured four comer depending legs 52. On eachleg 52 is rotatively mounted a support roll bearing 53 rolling on thetop of the track 48 and a side guide roll bearing 54 rolling against aside of the track 48. Also secured to the platform 50 are opposedelongated depending legs 56, each supporting a roll bearing 57 engagingthe bottom of the track 48 to prevent lifting or torquing of thecarriage 49.

A threaded shaft or lead screw 59 is rotatably mounted on top of thetrack 48 by brackets 60 (FIGS. 7, 8) and is threaded through a drive nut61 secured to and depending from the platform 50 (FIGS. 12 and 13). Astepping motor 63 is mounted on a bracket 64 integral with the left handbrackets 60 (FIG. 8) and is connected to the shaft 59 for rotationthereof to move the carriage 49 axially.

A plate 66 having a flange 67 is mounted on the platform S-for movementtransversely of the track 48, being secured in selected position by amachine screw 68 disposed through a slot 69 in the plate 66 (FIG. 12).Preferably, interengaging channel and rib in and on the platform 50 andplate 66 together with the screw 68 maintain the integrity of the plate66. A drill head 70 is secured in firm operative position on the plateflange 67 by a bracket 71. The adjustment provided by the screw 68 andslot 69 permits proper positioning of the drill head with respect to dieboards of different diameters, as appears below.

In the drill head 70 is mounted a combination drill and router bit 73,the operating end of which includes a drill portion and a stepped-downrouter end or tip 75, by which alternate drilling and routing can beaccomplished. It will beunderstood that the drill head 70 is anautomatic unit which provides rotary motion to drive the bit 73 as wellas the reciprocating motion to drill through a die board 30', retract tothe specified depth for routing the slot between holes, and finallyreturning to its starting position upon completion of the hole pattern.The drill head 70 may be powered electrically, hydraulically orpneumatically, but it receives its signals to operate from the numericalcontrol unit 23.

A shaft parallel with the track 48 is rotatably mounted in alignedbearings 81 supported in end plate supports 42, 43. Die board mountingdiscs 83 are disposed on the shaft 80 for axial movement, beingmaintained against rotation by a key or spline 84 in a groove in theshaft 80. Setscrews 85 in hubs of the discs 83 are provided for securingthe discs 83 in selected positions. The die board 30' of semicircularcross section is mounted on the discs 83 by screws 86.

A stepping motor similar to motor 63 is mounted on a bracket 91 securedby bolts 92 to the end plate support 43. A worm 93 is rotatably mountedon the bracket 91 and secured to the rotor of the motor 90 foractuation. A worm gear 94 is secured to the shaft 80 and meshes with theworm 93. The motor 90 receives electric signals and power supply fromthe numerical control unit 23 (FIG. 17), and in accordance therewithrotates the shaft 80 and supported die board 30' clockwise orcounterclockwise.

FIG. 17 is a wiring diagram showing the simple electrical connectionsbetween the numerical control unit 23 and the lead screw motor 63, themotor 70 of the drill head 70, and the shaft motor 90. The numericalcontrol unit 23 is actuated by the tape 22 programmed as byperforations, or otherwise, to sequentially actuate the unit 23 topredeterminately energize the motors 63,

. 70' and 90 to drill and/or rout the programmed design on'the die board30' in the manner broadly set forth above. Holes 97 and routing 98result, which are adapted to receive cutting rule 32, and the like(FIGS. 5 and 6).

Manifestly, the design drilled or drilled and routed in the die board30' can be repeated indefinitely on successive die boards or on the samedie board where the basic design is small with substantially one hundredpercent accuracy. Under the present method, tolerances can be held toi0.002 inches. This is an important advantage in die making. Forexample, it may be desirable to repeat the design a dozen times on thesingle die board 30', as for small cartons or boxes. It is essentialthat each die be the same as the others for machinery processing, orjams, etc., will occur.

When the die board 30 is complete, it is removed from the discs 83, andthe tangs 33 of cutting rule 32 (FIGS. 5 and 6), or the like, are forcedinto the holes 97 until the solid portion above the tangs 33 is snuglyin routing 98 which is only 0.001 inches to 0.002 inches wider than therule. Extreme accuracy is obtained in the dies. For small diameter dies,tangs 33 are rounded at 99 for ease of entry into the holes 97.

It is clear that there have been provided a novel method of and novelmeans for making accurate dies, novel controlled apparatus for effectingdrilling or drilling and routing of die boards, and novel rotary dieboards with spaced holes, routing, etc., and novel rotary dies.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description and theaccompanying drawings have been given by way of illustration andexample. It is also to be understood that changes in form of the severalparts, substitution of equivalent elements or steps, and rearrangementof parts or steps, which will be readily apparent to one skilled in the'art, are contemplated as within the scope of the present invention,which is limited only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is: v

1. In combination, a system for providing a preselected design andaccurately applying it to die board for the drilling of spaced holestherein adopted to receive the tangs or legs of cutting rule comprisingmeans for developing data for a preselected die design adapted to beconverted to a punched tape and the like, means for converting saiddeveloped data into a punched tape and the like, mechanism for receivingsaid tape responsive thereto to produce electrical impulses, and meansresponsive to said electrical impulses adapted to physically apply saidpreselected design to a die board in the form of spaced holes, saidspaced holes embodying said physically applied preselected design beingadapted to receive the spaced tangs or legs of cutting rule so formed.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the die board worked is arcuate.

3. The combination of claim 2 in which said first means comprises acomputer programmed to foreshorten dimensions not axial.

4. The combination of claim 3 in which said mechanism comprises a tapecontrolled unit programmed to control a selected number of electricallyactuated machines.

5. The combination of claim 2 in which said means responsive to saidelectrical impulses comprises a plurality of electrically actuatedmachines adapted to support a rotary die board and selected tools forphysically working the rotary die board.

6. The combination of claim 5 in which said electrically actuatedmachines are adapted to repeat the preselected design with high accuracyon a single die board and on successive die board.

7. The combination of claim 6 and including an electrically actuateddrill adapted to drill spaced holes in a rotary die board defining thepreselected design.

8. The combination of claim 7 and including routing means for routingbetween holes to accurately snugly receive cutting rule.

9. The combination of claim 8 in which a rotary die board is rotativelysupported and said drill is supported for traversing movement to providecombined universal positioning of said drill and routing means,

10. The combination of claim 9 in which the developed data includesforeshortening of dimensions not on axial lines.

1. In combination, a system for providing a preselected design andaccurately applying it to die board for the drilling of spaced holestherein adopted to receive the tangs or legs of cutting rule comprisingmeans for developing data for a preselected die design adapted to beconverted to a punched tape and the like, means for converting saiddeveloped data into a punched tape and the like, mechanism for receivingsaid tape responsive thereto to produce electrical impulses, and meansresponsive to said electrical impulses adapted to physically apply saidpreselected design to a die board in the form of spaced holes, saidspaced holes embodying said physically applied preselected design beingadapted to receive the spaced tangs or legs of cutting rule so formed.2. The combination of claim 1 in which the die board worked is arcuate.3. The combination of claim 2 in which said first means comprises acomputer programmed to foreshorten dimensions not axial.
 4. Thecombination of claim 3 in which said mechanism comprises a tapecontrolled unit programmed to control a selected number of electricallyactuated machines.
 5. The combination of claim 2 in which said meansresponsive to said electrical impulses comprises a plurality ofelectrically actuated machines adapted to support a rotary die board andselected tools for physically working the rotary die board.
 6. Thecombination of claim 5 in which said electrically actuated machines areadapted to repeat the preselected design with high accuracy on a singledie board and on successive die board.
 7. The combination of claim 6 andincluding an electrically actuated drill adapted to drill spaced holesin a rotary die board defining the preselected design.
 8. Thecombination of claim 7 and including routing means for routing betweenholes to accurately snugly receive cutting rule.
 9. The combination ofclaim 8 in which a rotary die board is rotatively supported and saiddrill is supported for traversing movement to provide combined universalpositioning of said drill and routing means.
 10. The combination ofclaim 9 in which the developed data includes foreshortening ofdimensions not on axial lines.